In my last post, I made the case that your blog is a gold mine for you. What I didn’t say is that it’s only a gold mine if you are consistently committed to blogging and to improving with each post. You can only fulfill this commitment with rich content.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Focus lately – enough that it deserves a capital “F.” It’s not that I’ve never written about focus, but it seems more critical than ever to remove ourselves from the chatter of social media, family squabbles, and needy pets. We have to give ourselves space to focus on a project.

Guest blogger Marcia Yudkin shares her marketing expertise regarding “hype.” Most people understand that when talking about “hype,” she is referring to an overexcited style of writing. Marcia offers help in understanding why and how you might want to keep hype at arm’s length.

Many artist-bloggers bemoan the fact that they don’t have the engagement they want on their blogs. If you’ve been wondering why your posts aren’t encouraging comments and dialogue, you probably puzzle over why you’re spending your time blogging at all. Let’s start with what an artist-blogger might want for her reader. While I encourage you to generate your own list, here are five things I want for my readers.

Your artist story is an opportunity for you to connect with readers, followers, and potential buyers. Your brand revolves around it. Your artist story is your Why. In his TED talk, Simon Sinek famously says, “People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.” This is powerful stuff. Your Why differentiates you from other artists and entrepreneurs.

Guest posts broaden your audience instantly. You not only receive recognition on the other blog, but you’ll hopefully get a bit of traffic to your own. It’s free advertising and it’s more effective than paid advertising. From time to time, I feature guest bloggers who share their stories of success (or utter failure). Do you have one to share?

How’d you like to save time writing and updating your sites? It’s easy! Make your content “evergreen.” Evergreen content is up-to-date whether it’s consumed now, next month, or three years into the future.